Zolo Liberty+

What’s the sound quality like?

The sound quality in the Zolo Liberty+ is phenomenal. In fact, compared to both the true wireless earbuds we’ve tested this year and in 2017, it’s a strong front-runner for the category.

As we said in our review, “The Liberty+ don’t offer the noise-cancelling found in Sony’s WF-1000X. However, the sound-stage they create is a strong contender for the categories best nevertheless. There’s a real sense of depth and crispness to the soundscapes here that took me by surprise.”

Credit: Zolo

“At times, it feels like you can lean back and submerge yourself in the audio experience. Vocals-heavy songs like British India’s “Precious” and Flobots “Dance in the Light of a Burning City” come through with punchy clarity. Meanwhile, the dreamy soundscapes of Tash Sultana’s “Mystik” and “Notion” positively growl with symphonic verve and aural zest. “

If you’d like to know more, you can read our full review of the Zolo Liberty+ true wireless earbuds here.

Are they waterproof?

Not quite. The earbuds boast an IPX5 rating for resistance against water and sweat damage, courtesy of a hydrophobic nano coating. This means they aren’t quite “waterproof” but have been tested to survive being subjected to water jets from any direction.

Do they integrate with an app?

Credit: Zolo

The Zolo Liberty+ can be used entirely without an app. However, there is a Zolo Play app that adds a five EQ presets and a tool designed to help you find your earbuds should you lose track of them.

How long does the battery last?

A single charged set of Zolo Liberty+ wireless earbuds will last three and a half hours. The charger case that comes with the buds holds another dozen or so full charges, bringing the total use time to approximately 48 hours.

Do they work with voice assistants?

Pressing and holding one of the buttons on the Zolo Liberty+ wireless earbuds acts as a shortcut to your voice assistant of choice: be it Siri or Google Assistant.

Currently, there’s no support for Alexa, Bixby or Cortana.

Credit: Zolo

How much do they cost?

In Australia, the Zolo Liberty+ wireless earbuds are priced at US$149. Even when you account for the exchange rate, this makes them one of the cheaper true wireless options out there.

There’s also a second model available - simply called the Zolo Liberty - which has about half the battery life and is priced at US$99.

Where can I buy them?

The Zolo Liberty+ are available online through the Zolo website as well as through local online resellers like Catch.

NOVA True Wireless Earbuds

What’s the sound quality like?

The sound quality here is alright. It’s decent. However, there’s nothing hugely special about how these sound versus everything else out there. When indoors, the NOVA earbuds are reasonably pleasant to listen to. Vocals sounded clear. Bass carried a sense of bounciness. However, as we noted in our full review, that reasonableness does come with a whole bucketful of caveats

Credit: NOVA

Once you go outdoors, the NOVA earbuds don’t do a great job of keeping away outside sound nor do they do a great job of staying connected to one another. Our experience with the earbuds was plagued with dropouts and even when everything came together, the sound quality just wasn’t that impressive.

If you’d like to know more, you can read our full review of the NOVA true wireless earbuds here.

Are they waterproof?

Nope. The NOVA earbuds have no waterproofing or durability specifications to speak of.

Do they integrate with an app?

Nope. TRNDLabs have gone for a pretty minimalist approach that sees the earbuds arrive without any software support.

How long does the battery last?

On their own, the TRNDlabs NOVA earbuds tout about three hours of music playback per charge.

Credit: Zolo

However, when combined with their 2800mAh charger case, they offer a total of approximately 60 hours of battery life.

Do they work with voice assistants?

A set of built-in microphones mean that the NOVA earbuds can be used to take phone calls. However, there’s no specific support for integration with voice assistants like the Google Assistant, Siri, Bixby or Alexa.

How much do they cost?

The TRNDLabs NOVA True Wireless Earbuds are priced at US$79.00.

Where can I buy them?

The NOVA True Wireless earbuds can be bought directly through TRNDLabs’ website or through Amazon.

Samsung IconX (2018)

What’s the sound quality like?

The exact sound-quality you’re getting out of the Samsung IconX earbuds depends on whether or not you make use of the on-board storage. If you are, they’ll sound a little better due to the lowered compression loss but the difference isn’t huge. The new buds boast a 5.8pi dynamic driver and built-in mic.

Credit: Samsung

If you’d like to know more, you can read our full review of the new 2018 Samsung IconX true wireless earbuds here.

Are they waterproof?

Like the original IconX earbuds, the new Samsung IconX earbuds come with a sweat resistant coating but no formal durability rating beyond that.

Do they integrate with an app?

The new IconX earbuds integrate with both the Samsung S Health app and the Samsung Gear app. The former allows for the tracking of distance, speed, duration, heart rate and calories burned while the latter allows you extra customization over the audio playback in the earbuds.

Using the Samsung Gear app, you can toggle where the IconX pull audio from, what apps are allowed to push through notifications and whether or not you’d like to make use of the IconX’s built-in audio coach during workouts.

Credit: Samsung

What’s more, the built in accelerometer and heart-rate sensor in the IconX allow it to automatically start fitness tracking if it detects that you’ve been on the move for the more than ten minutes.

Of course, the unique sell here is that the Samsung Gear IconX boast 4GB of on-board storage not offered by other true wireless earbuds. This means you can pull music over onto the device a PC and use them without needing to carry your phone with you.

How long does the battery last?

Samsung say their new and improved IconX earbuds will deliver your choice of 7 hours of playback using on-board storage, 4 hours of talk time or 5 hours of music streamed from your phone per charge. As with the first-gen IconX, the case doubles as a charger. Unfortunately, unlike other earbuds, the charger only gives you a single extra full charge for the buds.

This brings the total battery life to 10 or 14 hours, depending on your music source. However, unlike the original IconX, the new buds do support a form of fast-charging, promising up an hour of use in just ten minutes of charging.

Do they work with voice assistants?

Assuming you have a Samsung smartphone it can pull from, IconX earbud users can summon Bixby by tapping and holding on one of the earbuds. We reached out to Samsung to confirm whether the buds would be compatible with any other voice assistants and will update this article when we know more.

How much do they cost?

The new and improved Samsung Gear IconX earbuds have an RRP of $299.

Where can I buy them?

In Australia, the Samsung Gear IconX wireless earbuds are available through JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman and Samsung’s own online store.

BlueAnt PumpAir Sportsbuds

What’s the sound quality like?

As we said in our review, “To our ears, [the BlueAnt PumpAir Sportsbuds] sounded pretty similar to a lot of the competition. The bass here was a bit more punchy than the average and there was some distortion at higher volumes. However, for the most part, these are true wireless earbuds that tout all the usual pros and cons. That said, for a first-attempt, the PumpAir Sportsbuds proved surprisingly resilient to dropouts. There were a few but the problem was hardly frequent.”

Credit: BlueAnt

If you’d like to know more, you can read our full review of the BlueAnt PumpAir Sportsbuds here.

Are they waterproof?

The BlueAnt PumpAir Sports are rated IP54 for water and sweat resistance - which means they're not quite water-proof but they are splash-resistant.

Do they integrate with an app?

They do not.

How long does the battery last?

On their own, the PumpAir True Wireless Sportsbuds tout a battery life of three hours. However, as per usual, the carry-case for the earbuds doubles as a charger. All told, a full charge on the buds plus the case will net you 15 hours of continuous use.

Credit: BlueAnt

Do they work with voice assistants?

The PumpAir True Wireless Sportsbuds come ready to play nice with Siri and the Google Assistant. Unfortunately, Bixby users are out of luck.

How much do they cost?

Where can I buy them?

The BlueAnt PumpAir True Wireless sportsbuds are available through JB Hi-Fi and Harvey-Norman.

Cygnett FreePlay Bluetooth Earbuds

What’s the sound quality like?

Unfortunately, the sound quality on these earbuds isn't particularly great. To our ears, they came off as a little tinny and don't compare very favorable to a lot of the competition. Partially, this was due to poor ergonomics - which resulted in a listening experience often diluted by outside noise.

Do they work with voice assistants?

How much do they cost?

The Cygnett FreePlay Bluetooth Earbuds retail for $129.95 in two color options: black or white.

Credit: Cygnett

Where can I buy them?

The Cygnett FreePlay Bluetooth Earphones are available via www.cygnett.com.au and select retailers.

AXUM Gear Bluetooth Earbuds

What’s the sound quality like?

The sound quality on these earbuds isn't surprisingly good, given the relatively-unknown brand involved. They're got a very bass heavy sound, which can sometimes see them punch above their weight when it comes to the quality of the listening experience.

Credit: AXUM

That said, the overall experience is brought down by poor build quality and iffy connectivity - even in indoors situations.

Are they waterproof?

The AXUM Gear Bluetooth Earbuds do not offer any sort of formal IP-rating for water resistance but they do come with a sweat-proof coating.

Do they integrate with an app?

The AXUM Gear Bluetooth Earbuds do not come with any sort of companion app.

How long does the battery last?

The AXUM Gear Bluetooth Earbuds deliver 3 hours of battery life per charge. The charger-case they come bundled with holds another six charges, bring the total use time to 21 hours.

Credit: AXUM

Do they work with voice assistants?

The AXUM Gear Bluetooth Earbuds do not come with specific voice assistant integration.

How much do they cost?

The AXUM Gear Bluetooth Earbuds are available online for a regular price-tag of US$299.

Where can I buy them?

The AXUM Gear Bluetooth earbuds are available at the official AXUM website and through select online resellers.

3SIXT Studio True Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds

What’s the sound quality like?

In our review of the 3SIXT Studio True Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds, we said that "if the prospect of paying $129 for decent true wireless earbuds sounds good enough that you’re happy to make the compromises that 3SIXT are asking for, then you’ll likely come away satisfied with the sound of these."

Where can I buy them?

Bose SoundSport Free Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds

What’s the sound quality like?

In our review of the Bose SoundSport Free we said that "Bose are known for making good, reliable products that sound good. The Bose SoundSport Free true wireless earbuds hit all those boxes. What’s more, as a first effort in the true wireless category - it’s without any of the usual caveats."

Are they waterproof?

These earbuds are rated IPX4 against water damage.

Do they integrate with an app?

You don’t have to install the official Bose Connect app to use the SoundSport buds. However, once you do, you can use it to track and (hopefully) find any lost earbuds and also toggle the usual Bose voice prompts. Unfortunately, there’s no real equalizer settings or support for built-in voice assistants or anything like that.

Where can I buy them?

Jabra Elite 65t True Wireless Earbuds

What’s the sound quality like?

In our review of the Jabra Elite 65t True Wireless Earbuds, we said that "Jabra’s latest leap forward in the true wireless space doesn’t necessarily hit all its marks but it hits just enough to emerge as a solid contender nonetheless."

"Though a few caveats apply, specifically on the software side, it’s almost exactly everything we wanted out of the second-gen Elite Sport earbuds and a solid product that cements Jabra’s reputation and place on the front-lines of the true wireless arms race."

Do they integrate with an app?

Unfortunately, we found that this app was super finicky when it came to actually detecting that our earbuds were connected - even when we actively using them to listen to music at the time - and even once you do have everything connected the degree of customization we wanted out the app just wasn’t there. It all felt a little too basic, limited and not really worth the extra download.

How long does the battery last?

The Jabra 65t True Wireless Earbuds tout 6 hours of battery life per charge. The charger case contains another two charges, bringing the total hours of usage offered to 15.

Do they work with voice assistants?

How much do they cost?

Where can I buy them?

The Jabra 65t True Wireless Earbuds are available through JB Hi-Fi and online at jabra.com.au

Havit G1W True Wireless Earbuds

What’s the sound quality like?

As per our review of the HAVIT G1W True Wireless Earbuds, "we came away pretty impressed with the HAVIT G1W earbuds. The bass sounded bubbly, distortion wasn’t too bad and vocals scratched the right itch most of the time. I wouldn’t say they sounded the best earbuds I’ve ever tested but they definitely sit in the upper echelons of the category alongside Jabra’s 65ts and Zolo’s Liberty+."

Are they waterproof?

Do they integrate with an app?

The HAVIT G1W earbuds do not integrate with any sort of companion app.

How long does the battery last?

The HAVIT G1W True Wireless Earbuds sit above the average when it comes to total hours of usage at approximately 21.5 hours. Per charge, they offer 3.5 hours of playback. The charger case for the earbuds contains a generous five recharges.

The case also supports wireless charging via Qi.

Credit: HAVIT

Do they work with voice assistants?

The HAVIT G1W supports some basic voice assistant integration via a simple one-button control scheme. Tap to pause. Tap to play. Hold to bring up your Google Assistant or Siri. There’s no Alexa or Bixby support.

How much do they cost?

Pricing for the HAVIT G1W True Wireless Earbuds starts at US $79.

Where can I buy them?

The HAVIT G1W True Wireless Earbuds are available through the HAVIT website here.

Sony WF-SP700 Sportsbuds

What’s the sound quality like?

As per our review of the Sony WF-SP700 Sportsbuds, "The Sony WF-SP700N sports earbuds take the strengths of last year’s WF-1000X and mold them to a very different cause. Even if this means that the WF-SP700Ns suffer from some of the same drawbacks, it does still set them up in a unique position that’s also competitive - primarily due to the rarity of noise-cancellation in the true wireless space."

"That said, even when everything comes together, the WF-SP700N do still feel a little held-back by a handful first-gen hiccups. I really can’t wait to see what the second-generation of Sony’s true wireless hardware looks like - but if you can’t afford to wait, these are a strong, well-priced, option in the meantime."

Are they waterproof?

The Sony WF-SP700 Sportsbuds are IPX4 rated against splash damage.

Do they integrate with an app?

The Sony WF-SP700 Sportsbuds can be customized using the Sony Headphones Connect app for the WF-SP700N earbuds, which lets you toggle whether or not to allow ambient sound through and switch the earbuds between eight or so EQ settings. You can even use to app to configure the WF-SP700N earbuds to prioritize either sound quality or connection stability.

How long does the battery last?

Sony also continue to lag behind the competition when it comes to battery life. Even if it is 3 hours of noise-cancelling, 3 hours still feels like too little compared to the competition. Combined with the charger case, the WF-SP700 offer a total playback of nine hours.

Do they work with voice assistants?

The Sony WF-SP700 currently has no dedicated integration with voice assistants but Sony say that support for the Google Assistant will be coming at a later date.

Credit: Sony

How much do they cost?

The recommended retail price for the Sony WF-SP700 is $299.

Where can I buy them?

The Sony WF-SP700 are available through Sony and JB Hi-Fi.

Huawei FreeBuds

What’s the sound quality like?

As per our review of the Huawei FreeBuds, "The FreeBuds sound decent but rarely exceptional. The sound quality here is audible enough that you’re not going to strain to hear the lyrics. But, at the same time, it’s got a roughness around the edges that clearly sees it sit behind higher-fidelity alternatives out there."

Are they waterproof?

The Huawei FreeBuds are IP54 rated against splash and dust damage.

Do they integrate with an app?

The Huawei FreeBuds do not integrate with an app.

How long does the battery last?

The Huawei FreeBuds offer a battery life of 3 hours per charge, with a total of 10 hours of playback made possible by the carry-case for the earbuds. This places them dead in the middle of the pack on battery life.

Credit: Huawei Huawei FreeBuds

Do they work with voice assistants?

The Huawei FreeBuds have no on-board Assistant but they do integrate with Alexa and Google Assistant. Tapping and holding on the left earbud will call up your Assistant of choice.

How much do they cost?

The recommended retail price for the Huawei FreeBuds is $199.

Where can I buy them?

The Huawei FreeBuds are available through JB Hi-Fi.

Plantronics BackBeat FIT 3100

What’s the sound quality like?

As per our review of the Plantronics BackBeat FIT 3100, "the Plantronics BackBeat FIT 3100 sounded crisp enough that I wasn’t particularly unhappy with them. However, at the same time, they didn’t really sound exceptional in their fidelity and balance. They’re good enough, given the price. No more, no less. Assuming your choice in music has enough bass to make it over the top of any ambience noise - you probably won’t be disappointed by the sound here these."

You can read our full review of the Plantronics BackBeat FIT 3100 here.

Are they waterproof?

The Plantronics BackBeat FIT 3100 are IP57-rated against splash and dust damage.
This shouldn't be confused for proper waterproofing but pretty much the best you can get out of most true wireless earbuds at the moment.

Do they integrate with an app?

The Plantronics BackBeat FIT 3100 integrates with Plantronics' BackBeat app. This offers extra customization of the earbud's sound signature via an equaliser and software toggles that let you customize the various shortcuts attached to the physical and touch controls on the earbuds themselves.

How long does the battery last?

The Plantronics BackBeat FIT 3100 offer 5 hours of playback per charge, with another 10 hours contained in the charger case. In total, a fully charged set will offer 15 hours of playback.

Do they work with voice assistants?

Like most other true wireless earbuds, the Plantronics BackBeat FIT 3100 do not feature an on-board Assistant but they do easily integrate with Siri and Google Assistant. Once configured using the BackBeat app, you can tap and hold on the left earbud to call up your Assistant of choice. Bixby is not supported.

How much do they cost?

The Plantronics BackBeat FIT 3100 have a recommended retail price of $239.

Where can I buy them?

The Plantronics BackBeat FIT 3100 are available through JB HiFi, Officeworks, Rebel Sports and via Plantronics.com.au.

JBL Free X

What’s the sound quality like?

As noted in our review, "the JBL Free X sound pretty good when you’re listening to them in a relatively quiet, indoors environment. However, taking the earbuds outdoors quickly presented some problems."

Are they waterproof?

The JBL Free X are IPX5-rated against splash damage.

Do they integrate with an app?

The JBL Free X do not have any app-specific functionality.

How long does the battery last?

The JBL Free X earbuds offer four hours of playback, with another twenty hours of playback contained in the charger. You’re looking at twenty-four hours total usage - which is impressive, though not quite category leading.

Do they work with voice assistants?

The JBL Free X feature a built-in microphone and can be used to call up your smart assistant - be it Siri of Google Assistant - and for hands-free phone calls.

How much do they cost?

The JBL Free X are priced at a recommended retail price of $199.

Where can I buy them?

The JBL Free X can be bought via the JBL Australia website and through retail partners like JB Hi-Fi.

Jabra Elite Active 65t true wireless earbuds

What’s the sound quality like?

We don't have a dedicated review up on the site (yet) but the sound quality in the Jabra Elite Active 65t is, broadly-speaking, pretty similar to that of the regular Jabra Elite 65ts. It shouldn't surprise that there are a lot of shared strengths between the two. After all, these are a more fitness-focused take on the same concept. Generally, music playback sounded crisp and clear and connectivity was iron-clad.

Jabra was one of the first brands to embrace the era of true wireless earbuds and they're reaping the dividends of that early investment here.

Are they waterproof?

Like the regular Elite 65ts, the Jabra Elite Active 65t feature a IP56 rating and Jabra have thrown in a 2-year warranty against sweat and dust damage to back it up.

Do they integrate with an app?

As with the regular Elite 65t earbuds, The Jabra Elite Active 65t true wireless earbuds integrate with Jabra's Sound+ app. Doing so offers up a number of new avenues for customization - allowing users to mess with equalizer preferences and go granular with the way the earbuds handle ambient sound.

There's even support for exporting the basic fitness data gathered by the Elite Active 65t into Google Fit.

How long does the battery last?

The Jabra Elite Active 65t earbuds offer five hours of playback per charge. Another 10 hours are stored on the charger case, offering 15 hours of usage in total

Do they work with voice assistants?

The Jabra Elite Active 65t play nice with Siri, Alexa and the Google Assistant.

How much do they cost?

Where can I buy them?

The Jabra Elite Active 65t true wireless earbuds are available through Jabra directly, or through retailers like JB Hi-Fi.

Sennheiser Momentum TW (true wireless) earbuds

What’s the sound quality like?

Our review of the Sennheiser Momentum TW is currently a work-in-progress but - sneak peek - we're really impressed with them so far. The sound quality is really clean, the built-quality and material design is top-notch and we've yet to encounter a single dropout or connectivity issue - an impressive feat for the brand's first entry in the true wireless niche.

Look forward to our full review sometime in the near future.

Are they waterproof?

The Sennheiser Momentum TW offer up a humble (though not insignificant) IPX4-rating for splash-resistance.

Do they integrate with an app?

The Sennheiser Momentum TW earbuds are granted extra functionality via Sennheiser's own Smart Connect app. Once setup, you're able to customize the control scheme for the earbuds, adjust the sound signature using an equaliser and toggle the ambient sound filtering.

How long does the battery last?

The Sennheiser Momentum TW earbuds offer four hours of playback per charge, with another eight contained on the charger case

Do they work with voice assistants?

The Sennheiser Momentum TW true wireless earbuds matches most of the competition when it comes to smarts, offering clean compatible with voice assistants like Siri and the Google Assistant.

How much do they cost?

In Australia, the Sennheiser Momentum TW are pretty much the most expensive true wireless earbuds you can buy right now, with a recommended retail price of $499.

Where can I buy them?

The Sennheiser Momentum TW are available through Sennheiser, Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi and specialist dealers.

Which wireless earbuds have the best battery life?

For a long time, if battery life was your priority, Apple’s AirPods stood out as a clear winner. However, that’s no longer the case. Sure, the AirPods still rank well ahead of a lot of the competition but there are now several third-party brands that have overtaken them.

The chart below illustrates how each brand ranks when it comes to battery life.

Credit: Fergus Halliday | IDG

Which earbuds have the best durability?

In our round-up of 2017 true-wireless earbuds, Jabra’s Elite Sport ranked highly for durability - and that’s still very much the case. Where the other true wireless earbuds available have gone for hydrophobic coatings that present a degree of water resistance, Jabra have gone and gotten a proper, formal, certified IP67 rating against dust and water damage.

Credit: Jabra

Which earbuds have the best sound?

Again, this is a tough-call. For the most part, the audio quality in all true wireless headphones is still Bluetooth-based. What’s more, it’s Bluetooth-based without the aid of Qualcomm’s AptX compression tech. However, the integration of proper noise cancellation in Sony’s WF-1000X earbuds does go a long way towards making listening experiences with them sit well above the other options.

Credit: Zolo

That being said, the graphene drivers in Zolo’s Liberty+ earbuds really do make for a much-better sound experience versus a lot of the competition.

PCW Evaluation Team

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This small mobile printer is exactly what I need for invoicing and other jobs such as sending fellow tradesman details or step-by-step instructions that I can easily print off from my phone or the Web.

Microsoft Office continues to make a student’s life that little bit easier by offering reliable, easy to use, time-saving functionality, while continuing to develop new features that further enhance what is already a formidable collection of applications

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